The Chinese parent company had appealed to the apex court against the high court's order.

BENGALURU | CHENNAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras high court lifted the ban on TikTok, three weeks after it had asked the government to prohibit further downloads of the popular Chinese short-video application.

On April 3, the bench had passed an order directing the government to prohibit downloading of the TikTok app in the country, calling it “dangerous for children.” Last week, Google and Apple removed TikTok from their app stores on the directions of the government.

Amicus Curiae Arvind Datar, appointed by the court to examine the implications of the app, argued on Wednesday that banning an application is not the solution, and rights of legitimate users must be protected.

The Supreme Court had on Monday asked the Madras High Court to decide in its hearing on Wednesday ByteDance’s plea against the latter’s interim order of banning the app.

On TikTok, users create short videos set to music, often lip-synching, dancing or acting out skits. The app contains templates and visual effects to spice up the videos. It has been criticized for inappropriate content that could also expose children to sexual predators. There is also a live-streaming feature that allows users to send virtual “gifts” to their favourite creators, which can be bought with real money.

Datar cited safeguards provided by the Information Technology Act to intermediaries such as TikTok against liability for content created by its users. He argued that IT Act doesn't obligate the intermediary to screen all information being hosted on its platform.

Datar said India cannot have a system where something which is statutorily permissible becomes judicially impermissible.

Senior Advocate Isaac Mohanlal appeared for TikTok. He explained that the application has an in-built security mechanism, and its machine moderation will not allow uploading of videos with obscene or nude contents.

TikTok had claimed that the ban on fresh downloads was resulting in financial losses of up to $500,000 a day for its developer, Beijing ByteDance Technology Co, and has put more than 250 jobs at risk.

"The submission by Datar that Public Interest Litigations and judicial orders should be within the legislative framework, in keeping with protecting free expression and privacy, indicates that there is a need for legislative action on various fronts, and that it may be a better policy-oriented solution than a wholescale ban," said Apar Gupta, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation.

It has been downloaded by nearly 300 million users so far in India, out of more than 1 billion downloads globally, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower.

India has emerged as a key battleground for American and Chinese apps fighting it out to get hold of its citizens’ data. Between this intense competition, Indian social media and messaging apps such as Sharechat, Hike and JioChat are pushing the country’s authorities to get stricter with foreign firms to protect Indian data sovereignty.